Going 10-2 and to the Belk Bowl wouldn’t be too shabby.

Entering tonight’s ESPN headliner at Duke, the Tar Heels’ only path to the ACC Championship game in Orlando is to win out and hope Virginia Tech loses at home to either Georgia Tech or Virginia. Their reward for winning the ACC Coastal Division is playing Clemson for the second straight year in the title game. Do we really want to do that again?

Clemson is losing Deshaun Watson and several more of its best players to the NFL after this season. It would not be the worst thing ever if the Tar Heels waited until next year to return to the ACC championship game, which is likely to return to Charlotte if Roy Cooper is the new governor and HB2 is repealed or rendered moot.

Meanwhile, beating Duke, The Citadel and reeling NC State in their last three games, finishing 10-2 and getting a good bowl bid is not a bad alternative. One pundit’s projection has Carolina going to the Belk Bowl, which is still played in Charlotte, and facing Tennessee from the Southeastern Conference. Another has the Heels in what used to be the Gator Bowl to play LSU. They could also slip into the Orange Bowl if Louisville slips up at Houston on November 17.

Last year’s 11-1 regular season was followed by losses to Clemson and Baylor in a bad-taste bowl game. Winning out this season and winning a bowl game would render an 11-2 record and set Carolina up as the ACC favorite in 2017 as long as Mitch Trubisky and Elijah Hood returned for their senior seasons. So missing out on the displaced conference championship game isn’t terrible.

The Tar Heels lost their chance to control their own destiny in the Hurricane against Virginia Tech, which hasn’t lost since and is likely headed to Orlando. Carolina can only do what it can do, which is throttle Duke, pummel The Citadel and perhaps keep State out of a bowl game by beating the Wolfpack the day after Thanksgiving. Then get a chance to finish the season with a big win in a high-profile bowl somewhere. Not the outcome Carolina wanted but, all things considered, not a bad ending at all.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
INSIDE CAROLINA LIVE 12/17/22 - Transfer Portal, New Coaches, and Hoops
Tommy with special guests, discuss where UNC football is with the transfer portal, assess the new offensive coaches, and talk a lot of hoops!
WATCH: Storm Duck Stars in New Television Commercial for All About Insurance
Local insurance giant All About Insurance, through an NIL partnership with UNC football star Storm Duck, has released a new television commercial featuring Duck as a “coverage expert.” The commercial will be airing this week on Hulu, WRAL and WRAZ morning news, Spectrum Reach and will air during the local FOX broadcast of the San […]
Art’s Angle: The Lucky Charm
I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson What a weekend to be a Tar Heel. From basketball to field hockey to soccer to tennis to wrestling, athletes and teams won all over the place. Football, of course, must be the […]
Chapel Hill: Home Football Games, 9/11 Events and Bus Drivers
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell on the air Thursday, September 9. She details several upcoming events around town, including 9/11 remembrance events, UNC football's home opener, meetings about stormwater management and more!
UNC: Salary Reductions, Furloughs Imminent for Athletics Staff
In a message to the community, UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said salary reductions and furloughs will be implemented for coaches and staff members beginning on October 1. “We expect to lose between $30 million and $52 million of projected revenue, including ticket sales, sponsorship and television revenue, conference distributions and concessions sales,” Cunningham said. […]
UNC Junior Linebacker Declares for NFL Draft
UNC middle linebacker Andre Smith is leaving Chapel Hill to enter the NFL Draft. The junior made the announcement via his Twitter account on Sunday. He missed most of the 2017 season after suffering a season-ending injury against Louisville in September. Smith, from Jacksonville, Florida, was expected to be a key piece making his return […]
Chansky's Notebook: Nightmare Season Over
Perhaps the longest fall in Carolina football history has come to a merciful end. The Tar Heels have had bad seasons before, most of them to begin what turned out to successful coaching reigns of Bill Dooley and Mack Brown or the start of troubled tenures for other UNC football CEOs. The season that ended […]
UNC's Fedora Plans More Involvement in Play-Calling Duties
North Carolina coach Larry Fedora plans to be more involved in play-calling duties with the Tar Heels off to a 1-5 start fueled by inexperience and injuries. Fedora said he would be more involved “when we are between series … in what I would like to try to do” entering Saturday’s home game against Virginia. […]
Tar Heels Lose Top WR Proehl to Season-Ending Injury
Add more names to North Carolina’s growing list of season-ending injuries, including top receiver Austin Proehl. The school released its injury report Thursday night ahead of Saturday’s trip to Georgia Tech. That included Proehl, defensive tackle Tyler Powell, tight end Carl Tucker and receiver Rontavius Groves being out for the season, pushing the list of […]
QB Competition May Continue Through Game Week for UNC
North Carolina coach Larry Fedora still isn’t ready to pick a starting quarterback. The Tar Heels on Monday released the depth chart for this week’s opener against California, but it didn’t answer many of the questions that lingered through preseason camp. LSU graduate transfer Brandon Harris , redshirt freshman Chazz Surratt and sophomore Nathan Elliott […]
›